Vent-box



(No Model.)

W. E. WARNER.

VENT BOX.

No. 442,789. Patented Dec. .16. 1890.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VALTER EDVARDS VARNER, OF BROOKLYN, N EV YORK.

VENT-BOX.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 442,789, dated December16, 1890.

Application led July 23, 1890. Serial No. 359,639. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Beit known that I, WALTER EDWARDS WAR- NER, of Brooklyn, in the countyofKings and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Vent-Boxes, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to an improvementin vent-boxes adapted for use inconnection with the plumbing system of buildings, and has for its objectto so construct the boxes that they-will discharge any foreign matterentering therein, and thus provide at all times for a perfectcirculation ot' air.

A further object of the invention is to provide a box of simple anddurable construction, which may be elfectually used to replace theordinary vaults now in common use.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the vent-box that itmay be located upon the curb of the sidewalk. The invention consists inthe novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will behereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is a central vertical section th rough the box and the curb towhich the box is attached. Fig. 2 is a transverse central sectionthrough the box and the attached curb; and Fig. 3 is a front elevation,partly in section, of a modified form of the box.

In communities where the plumbing construction is controlled by law atrap is required to be placed near the front wall of the house toprevent the gas from the main sewer entering the house-drains, and inorder that the air in the house-drains should not become stagnant avent-pipe is carried from the house side of the trap through the frontwall of the building, and is usually connected with a small brick vaultprovided with a grating and located outside of the building-line. Thepipe thus run is known as the fresh-air or induction pipe. The soil-pipeor housedrain is run up above the roof7 and as the warm air in thedrains rises up this pipe toward the roof a current is induced throughthe fresh-air or induction pipe.

As the grating of the brick vaults ordinarily employed is located flushwith the sidewalk,it is evident that they soon become choked with thesweepings or other accumulated dirt of the street, thereby rendering thevault practically useless for the purpose intended. Again, many of thebrick Vaults are placed in soil which is not flagged over, and as thevaults are rarely made strong they soon cave in and fill up. Duringrain-storms water gathers in these small vaults and becomes stagnant andfrequently Washes the dirt, &c., into the induction-pipe, therebystopping it up. To obviate these defects and to provide a vent-box as asubstitute for the vault and capable of discharging any foreign matterentering it is the prime object of the present invention.

The vent-boxA may be one casting or may be constructed of a number ofsections. The box is preferably rectangular in general contour, and isprovided with a flange 10 at its upper edge, in the upper inner surfaceof which flange a rabbet 11 is ordinarily produced, adapted to receive agrating 12',Which grating when placed in position is flush with theupper outer edges of the flange. The grating coveringthe body of the boxis ordinarily provided With a latch 13 upon its under face at one end,adapted to enter a suitable recess in one end of the box, as illustratedin Fig. l, the object of the latch being to hold the grating in place,yet render itcapable of being removed when occasion may demand.

A lug 14; is preferably projected downward from the uppei' ange at eachend of the box body, which lugs may be integral with the flange orattached thereto, as in practice may be found most desirable. When thebox is to be secured to the curbstone 15 or equivalent support, thebottom of the box is opened and the ends of the box at the bottom areinclined from its out-er face upward in the direction of the back, as isbest illustrated at a in Fig. 2; but the back preferably extendsdownward as far as the front, and sometimes farther, as shown at a inFig. 2.

In the back of the body of the box an open- IOO ' ing 1G is produced,which is surrounded by a collar 17, a hub, offset, or equivalent device,adapted to be connected with the ind uctionpipe. The collar or offsetmay be in the shape of a T, a Y, an L, or other fitting, as may berequired to make a proper connection with the induction-pipe, which pipeis located beneath the surface of the ground or flagging or pavementcovering the same. A

If in practice it is found desirable, the opening 1G may be protectedupon the inner side of the box by means of a diagonal shield 18, thesaid shield serving topi-event the dust or water entering vthrough thegrating 12 from being driven directly into the opening; but the shieldmay be dispensed with, if desired.

The curb 15 at the point where the ventbox is to be attached is providedwith a vertical recess 19 in its upper face, the base or bottom wall ofwhich recess is preferably inclined downward, as illustrated at 2O inFig. 2, the recess being made to extend from front to back of the curb,and a rabbet is formed in the upper walls of the recess to receive theextending end surfaces of the upper boxflange, and in the rabbets of thecurb cavities 2l are formed for the reception of the lugs 14 of the box,which lugs may be leaded or otherwise secured to place. iVhen the box isplaced in the recess, the front of the box faces the gutter, and a spaceB is made to intervene the outer edge of the inclined bottom of therecess and the opposed surface of the front ofthe box, and the extensionofthe back of the box, which in the construction shown partakes somewhatof the character of a longitudinal lip, bears against the inner face ofthe curb. The Weight ot` the soil at the back of the curb, together withthe attachment of the box to the ind notion-pipe, serves to firmly holdthe box in the recess, even though but slightly attached to the upperface of the curb.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a slight modification in. which the cover22 of the box is not grated or apertured, but the openings are producedin the outer or front side of the box, as shown at 23; but it inpractice it is yfound desirable, in addition to having the gratingcover,apertures may also be produced in the outer face of the box.

It will be observed that should any dirt or foreign matter enter thevent-box it will find a ready and quick exit through the opening Bbetween the bottom of the box' and the basewall of the curb-recess, andthat the said box will be effectualiy cleaned of any matter that maycling to it in the event of a rain-storm, which matter might otherwisetill up the opening and render offensive the air from the vault. It isfurther evident that various modications of the devices for attachingthe box to the curb may be made, and that by Yplacing a i in the eventthat it is deemed objectionable to cut a curb the box may be set at therear ot the curb and communication be established between the bottom ofthe box and the gutter in any approved manner.

I desire it to be understood that the bottom of the curb-recess may bemade practically straight, or that it inclined the degree of inclinationmay be varied; also, instead ot the box having an extension at; its rearbottom edge to bear against the curb the extension may be located at theends, and other details of construction maybe substituted byequivalents, if in practice it is found desirable.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1.. A vent-box provided with Ventilatingsurfaces, abottom outlet, an aperture in one side of the body, a couplingsurrounding said aperture, and means, substantially as described, forattaching the body to a support, as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination,with a curb or equivalent support provided With arecess, of a ventbox fitted to the said recess, provided with an outletat the bottom, ventilating-surfaces, an aperture in the side, and acoupling surrounding the aperture, as and for the purpose specied.

3. The combination, with a curb or equivalent support provided With arecess having an inclined bottom wall, of a vent-box fitted to the saidrecess, provided with ventilating-surfaces, a bottom outlet, and acoupling vfor engagement with the air-induction pipe, substantially asshown and described.

4. The combination, with a curb or equivalent support provided with arecess, of a ventbox fitted to the said recess, havingventilating-surfaces, a bottom outlet and body-opening, a couplingsurrounding the said opening, and means, substantially as specified, forattaching the box to the curb. Y

WALTER EDWARDS WARNER. ivitnesses:

J. F. ACKER,

E. M. CLARK.

IOC

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